Abstract
Although the thalassinidean mud shrimp Laomedia sp. is one of the most abundant species in the upper tidal flats along the west coast of Korea, little is known of its ecological characteristics and bioturbation effects on intertidal sediments. This study estimated the sediment reworking rate (SRR) of Laomedia sp. by quantifying in situ sediments ejected from the burrows via direct entrapment and evaluated the effects of tidal conditions on the SRR. The amount of expelled sediments from individual burrows was significantly related to the duration of submergence, whereas SRR showed an increasing trend as elevation increased. The SRR of Laomedia sp. was estimated to be 40 g ind.−1 d−1 and the annual SRR of this species was 72.2 kg m−2 yr−1 based on the density in the study area, which is very high compared to other thalassinidean shrimp. These findings suggest that Laomedia sp. is an important bioturbator in intertidal sediments, and tidal conditions should be considered when evaluating the SRR of this species.
Highlights
Bioturbation by the activities of benthic organisms is an important process influencing the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of intertidal sediments [1,2]
Quantification of Reworked Sediments The amount of sediment expelled from Laomedia sp. burrows was measured at spring tide in April 2020 using a direct entrapment method
The expelled sediments were positively correlated with the duration of submergence at all burrows; a significant correlation between them was not observed at LM1 and LM2 due to large variation (Figure 4)
Summary
Bioturbation by the activities of benthic organisms is an important process influencing the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of intertidal sediments [1,2]. Sediment reworking that results from macrofauna feeding and burrowing largely affects organic matter mineralization, chlorophyll content reduction, and nutrient exchange from the sediment to the water column [6,7,8,9]. Several studies have assessed sediment reworking by thalassinidean shrimp [17,18,19]. Thalassinidean mud shrimp Laomedia (Crustacea, Laomediidae) species is distributed in upper tidal flats along the western coast of Korea. Koo [35] reported that the nutrient flux through the burrows of this species with irrigation was much higher than that in the tidal flat surface layer. This study estimated the SRR by quantifying sediments ejected from burrows of Laomedia sp. This study estimated the SRR by quantifying sediments ejected from burrows of Laomedia sp. via in situ direct entrapment and evaluated the effects of tidal conditions on the SRR of this species
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